Soap dispenser

ABSTRACT

A soap dispenser includes a wall mount housing and a housing cover mounted to the wall mount housing. A compression module mechanism has an upper compression module and a lower compression module mounted in a sliding relationship. The compression module mechanism is mounted to the wall mount housing. A cartridge has a tank filled with liquid soap. The cartridge includes a neck with a neck groove and a nozzle. The cartridge includes a soap pump that pumps soap through the nozzle. A neck retainer has a neck retainer guide. The neck retainer guide is configured to fit to the neck groove. A soap piston is mounted to the neck in a telescopic sliding relationship. The soap piston extends beyond the neck groove. The soap piston terminates at a soap nozzle.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is in the field of soap dispensers.

DISCUSSION OF RELATED ART

A variety of different soap dispensers have been created in the priorart. Many of them have difficulty loading and unloading cartridges dueto the desire to meet manufacturing and design goals of reliability,proprietary design, tolerances and ease of use.

For example, in United States patent publication numberUS2010/0224651A1, entitled Dispenser Housing by inventor Doug Zlatic,published Sep. 9, 2010, the abstract discloses, “A dispenser including ahousing with a backplate, an intermediary member pivotally connected tothe backplate, and a cover pivotally connected to the intermediarymember. The intermediary member is pivotally connected to the backplateadjacent to a first end of the housing, and the cover is pivotallyconnected to the intermediary member adjacent to a second end of thehousing. The dispenser also includes a refill unit including a pump anda product reservoir. The product reservoir is flexible and resilient sothat it can be compressed repeatedly.”

For example, in United States patent publication numberUS2012/0112914A1, entitled Hygiene compliance module by inventor JacksonW. Wegelin, published May 10, 2012, the abstract discloses, “A hygienecompliance module is configured to be retrofit with a compatibledispenser to enable hygiene compliance monitoring functions. The hygienecompliance module is configured to be coupled to the dispenser via acommunication interface to receive power, ground, and dispenseractuation signals therefrom. In addition, the hygiene compliance moduleis enabled to communicate with a wireless data tag that is worn by auser of the dispenser and with a remote hygiene compliance monitoringstation.”

For example, in United States patent publication numberUS2013/0299518A1, entitled Foam dispensers and refill units for foamdispensers by inventor John J. McNulty, published Nov. 14, 2013, theabstract discloses, “A refill unit for a foam dispenser that has an aircompressor permanently attached to the dispenser is provided herein. Therefill unit includes a liquid container and a body portion having afirst end and a second end. The first end of the body portion is fluidlycoupled to the liquid container. A liquid chamber is located in the pumpbody, the liquid chamber having an expanded state and a contractedstate. An outlet nozzle is located proximate a second end of the bodyportion. A mixing chamber is located within the body portion. An airinlet is located through the body portion and is in fluid communicationwith the mixing chamber. A sanitary seal is located proximate the airinlet. The sanitary seal allows air to enter into the mixing chamber andprevents liquid from traveling out of the body portion through the airinlet.”

For example, in United States patent publication numberUS2013/0175296A1, entitled Peroxide powered product dispensing system byinventor Robert L. Gray, published Jul. 11, 2013, the abstractdiscloses, “A dispensing system includes a decomposition chamber havinga catalyst for the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogenperoxide and a foaming soap are provided in separate first and secondchambers of a product reservoir portion of a refill unit. Decompositionof the hydrogen peroxide produces oxygen gas and water, that may be usedas a propellant for the creation of the foamed product, or may be usedto power a pump. Additionally, the oxygen gas may be used to power ascavenger for the creation of electricity for charging a battery withinthe dispenser.”

For example, in United States patent publication number US2011/056987A1,entitled Dispenser with lockout device by inventor Scott T. Proper,published Mar. 10, 2011, the abstract discloses, “A dispenser housingthat receives a refill unit including a container and pump associatedwith the container to pump contents from the container. The dispenserhousing includes an actuator carriage moveable between a rest positionand an actuated position. The dispenser housing also includes a lockoutdevice moveable between an open position and a closed position. When thelockout device is in the open position, the actuator carriage ismovable, and, when the lockout device is in the closed position,movement of the actuator carriage is blocked by the lockout device suchthat the actuator carriage cannot be moved from the rest position to theactuated position.”

For example, in United States patent publication numberUS2010/0059550A1, entitled Pump having a flexible mechanism forengagement with a dispenser by inventor Nick E. Ciavarella, publishedMar. 11, 2010, the abstract discloses, “A foam pump having a flexiblemember for engagement with a dispenser, the pump being part of a refillunit including a product reservoir. The flexible connecting memberextends from an extreme end of the pump and is received by an actuatingcarriage that is movably connected to an actuating mechanism. Theflexible connecting member permits insertion of the pump into adispenser, and may act to dampen actuating forces to reduce foamshearing. The flexible connecting member may be provided in the form ofa flared tip that is received through an oval opening in the productdispenser, and the pump may include a locking member to prevent unwantedactuation thereof during insertion of the refill unit into thedispenser.”

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A soap dispenser includes a wall mount housing and a housing covermounted to the wall mount housing. A compression module mechanism has anupper compression module and a lower compression module mounted in asliding relationship. The compression module mechanism is mounted to thewall mount housing. A cartridge has a tank filled with liquid soap. Thecartridge includes a neck with a neck groove and a nozzle. The cartridgeincludes a soap pump that pumps soap through the nozzle. A neck retainerhas a neck retainer guide. The neck retainer guide is configured to fitto the neck groove. A soap piston is mounted to the neck in a telescopicsliding relationship. The soap piston extends beyond the neck groove.The soap piston terminates at a soap nozzle.

The soap dispenser also optionally has a compression module retainerlatch having a compression module retainer latch tip. The uppercompression module has an upper compression module top surface that isretained to the wall mount housing by the compression module retainerlatch tip. An upper retainer groove arm and a lower retainer groove armare formed on the wall mount housing. The upper retainer groove armretains an upper retainer tab formed on the upper compression module,and the lower retainer groove arm retains a lower retainer tab formed onthe upper compression module. The upper retainer groove arm is formedabove the lower retainer groove arm.

A neck retainer guide upper edge and a neck retainer guide lower edgeare formed in a parallel configuration. The neck retainer guide has aneck retainer guide lower edge that engages the neck groove flange. Theneck retainer guide retains the neck and positions it so that the up anddown reciprocating motion of the soap pump does not dislodge thecartridge within the hollow of the wall mount housing and housing cover.

A right alignment piston and a left alignment piston both are formed ona lower compression module frame. The right alignment piston is mountedto slide within a right alignment hollow, and the left alignment pistonis mounted to slide within a left alignment hollow. A left reciprocationslot and a right reciprocation slot are formed on the upper compressionmodule. The lower compression module has a left reciprocation sleeve anda right reciprocation sleeve. The left reciprocation sleeve reciprocateswithin the left reciprocation slot, and the right reciprocation sleevereciprocates within the right reciprocation slot. The soap dispenser ofclaim also preferably includes a nozzle collar retainer formed as anindent on a planar shaped lower compression module frame of the lowercompression module. The nozzle collar retainer biases a nozzle collar ofthe nozzle for pumping soap.

A feature of the present invention is that a guide ramp formed on theneck retainer guide has a guide ramp tip so that the cartridge can beinstalled in a single downwardly rotating movement that is self alignedby the guide ramp. Therefore, the guide ramp is configured to retain andguide the neck groove flange as the cartridge is inserted into the wallmount housing given the guide ramp's diagonal slope.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side cross section view of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the present invention with the housingcover removed.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the upper compression module.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the upper compression module.

FIG. 5 is a perspective exploded view of a wall mount housing receivingan upper compression module and a lower compression module.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the wall mount housing.

FIG. 7 is a right side view of the wall mount housing with the left sideview being symmetrical to the right side view.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the wall mount housing showing theinstallation of the compression module.

FIG. 9 is a back view of the wall mount housing showing the wallmounting openings and

FIG. 10 is a top view of the wall mount housing.

FIG. 11 is a view of the wall mount housing with the cartridge inserted.

The following call out list of elements can be a useful guide inreferencing the elements of the drawings.

-   10 Housing Cover-   11 Housing Cover Hinge-   20 Wall Mount Housing-   21 Base Plate-   22 Right Sidewall-   23 Left Sidewall-   24 Top Sidewall-   25 Lower Sidewall-   26 Compression Module Retainer Latch-   27 Base Plate Mount Opening-   28 Upper Retainer Groove-   29 Lower Retainer Groove-   30 Upper Compression Module-   31 Upper Retainer Tab-   32 Lower Retainer Tab-   33 Neck Retainer-   34 Neck Retainer Guide-   35 Guide Ramp-   36 Guide Ramp Tip-   37 Alignment Hollow-   38 Left Reciprocation Slot-   39 Right Reciprocation Slot-   40 Lower Compression Module-   41 Left Alignment Piston-   42 Right Reciprocation Sleeve-   43 Right Lever Arm Slot-   44 Nozzle Collar Retainer-   45 Lower Compression Module Frame-   46 Left Lever Arm Slot-   47 Right Alignment Piston-   48 Left Reciprocation Sleeve-   49 Piston Tip-   50 Engagement Elements-   51 Wall Mount Housing Latch-   52 Compression Module Retainer Latch Tip-   53 Upper Compression Module Top Surface-   54 Upper Retainer Groove Arm-   55 Right Swivel-   56 Left Swivel-   57 Sleeve Tips-   58 Left Rail Surface-   59 Right Rail Surface-   61 Keyhole-   62 Neck Retainer Guide Upper Edge-   100 Tank-   101 Soap-   102 Neck-   103 Neck Groove-   104 Neck Groove Flange-   105 Soap Piston-   106 Soap Nozzle-   107 Dispensing Opening

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As seen in FIG. 11, the soap dispenser has a cartridge with a tank 100.The tank 100 has a reservoir of soap 101. The tank 100 is a plasticbottle that has a rectangular shape and has a neck 102. The neck 102 hasa neck groove 103. The neck groove 103 has an neck groove flange 104.The neck groove flange 104 engages to the dispenser. The neck 102extends to a soap piston 105 that telescopically reciprocates into andout of the neck 102. The soap piston 105 has a soap nozzle 106 that hasa dispensing opening 107. The housing cover 10 can be removed forcleaning.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 5, the housing cover 10 has a housing cover hinge11 that connects to the wall mount housing 20. The housing cover 10 andthe wall mount housing 20 retain the tank 100 inside of the soapdispenser.

The wall mount housing 20 generally has a top sidewall 24, a rightsidewall 22, a lower sidewall 25, and a left sidewall 23. The foursidewalls retain the rectangular shaped tank 100. The wall mount housing20 connects to the wall at a base plate mounting opening 27. The baseplate mounting opening 27 can receive a screw or other type ofconnector. The base plate 21 of the wall mount housing 20 also has acompression module retainer latch 26. The compression module retainerlatch 26 is a plastic injected leaf spring that protrudes outwardly forretaining the compression module. The compression module slides into apair of upper retainer grooves 28 and a pair of lower retainer grooves29. The upper retainer grooves 28 are on the left and right side of thebase plate 21. Similarly, the lower retainer groove 29 is also on theleft and right side of the base plate. The lower sidewall 25 has a notchin it for clearance of the soap foam generated and passing through thedispensing opening 107.

The compression module has two parts, namely an upper compression module30 and a lower compression module 40. The upper compression module 30fits to the lower compression module 40 in a sliding reciprocatingconnection. The upper compression module has a pair of upper retainertabs 31 and a pair of lower retainer tabs 32 on a right and leftsidewall of the upper compression module 30. The pair of upper retainertabs 31 slide downwardly into the pair of upper retainer grooves 28.Similarly, the pair of lower retainer tabs 32 slide downwardly into thepair of lower retainer grooves 29.

The upper compression module 30 locks into the hollow between the rightsidewall 22 and the left sidewall 23. The hollow is also formed betweenthe top sidewall 24 and the lower sidewall 25. During assembly, thelower compression module 40 is first inserted into the upper compressionmodule 30, and then the upper compression module 30 is slid downwardlyuntil the compression module retainer latch 26 clicks to lock. Thecompression module retainer latch 26 can be released by depressing it.

The upper compression module 30 has an neck retainer 33 that is formedin a cylindrical profile. The neck retainer 33 has a neck retainer guide34. The neck retainer guide 34 has a guide ramp 35. The guide ramp 35terminates at a guide ramp tip 36. The neck retainer guide 34 engagesthe neck groove 103. The guide ramp 35 engages the neck groove flange104.

The sliding relationship between the upper compression module 30 in thelower compression module 40 is maintained when a pair of alignmentpistons engage a pair of alignment hollows 37. The sliding relationshiphas little play because the left alignment hollow receives the leftalignment piston 41, and the right alignment hollow receives the rightalignment piston 47. Each alignment piston has a piston tip 49. Thepistons are cylindrical for engaging to the cylindrical alignmenthollows. Additionally, on a left and right side of the neck retainer 33,the left reciprocation slot 38 receives a left reciprocation sleeve 48and the right reciprocation slot 39 receives a right reciprocationsleeve 42. The left lever arm slot 46 receives a left lever arm and theright lever arm 43 receives a right lever arm. A pair of lever armsengage and push the lever arm slots upward thereby pumping the soapnozzle 106. The soap nozzle 106 is pushed upward by the nozzle collarretainer 44. The soap nozzle 106 it has a collar shape that engages orabuts to the nozzle collar retainer 44. The lower compression module 40has the right reciprocation sleeve 42, the right alignment piston 47,the left alignment piston 41, and the left reciprocation sleeve 48mounted to, formed with or otherwise rigidly connected to the lowercompression module frame 45.

When inserting the cartridge with the neck 102, the cartridge neckgroove 103 engages the neck retainer guide upper edge 62 and the neckretainer guide lower edge 61. Easy insertion is made with the guide ramp35. The neck groove flange engages the neck retainer guide lower edge61. And is guided or biased downwardly upon initial insertion by theguide ramp 35. The angle of the guide ramp 35 is angled to approximatelya circular path of the neck groove flange 104 with an axis of rotationbeing the top sidewall 24. A user reloads the cartridge by putting thetop of the tank 100 against the top sidewall 24, and then rotating thebody of the tank 100 so that the guide ramp 35 biases the neck grooveflange 104 downwardly into position. After full rotation, the cartridgeis inserted and ready for use after the user closes the housing cover10.

The engaging surfaces of the present invention improve and optimize theloading and unloading of cartridges. The engaging elements 50 include awall mount housing latch 51 located at the top sidewall 24. The wallmount housing latch 51 can be made with the latch mounted to the housingcover 10. The housing cover 10 can engage the wall mount housing latch51. Additionally, the compression module has a compression moduleretainer latch tip 52 which is formed as an edge for engaging a topsurface of the upper compression module 30. The top surface of the uppercompression module 30 is flat and adapted to engage to the compressionmodule retainer latch tip 52. Additionally, the upper compression moduletop surface 53 is preferably parallel to the compression module retainerlatch tip 52 such that both of them about each other in a parallelsurface abutment geometry.

The additionally, the pair of upper retainer grooves 28 are formed onthe pair of upper retainer groove arms 54. Also, the lower retainergrooves are formed on a pair of lower retainer groove arms. The housingcover 10 has a housing cover hinge 11 that engages a right swivel 55 anda left swivel 56. The right swivel 55 and the left swivel 56 can beformed as swivel openings which are circular for receiving a circularprotrusion of the housing cover hinge 11. The circular protrusion canrotate inside the circular opening for providing a swiveling hinge. Theactuating lever can be formed in a variety of different ways anddesigned to engage rail surfaces inside the lever arm slots. A leftlever arm slot 46 has a left rail surface 58 at an upper inside surface.Similarly, the right lever arm slot 43 has a right rail surface 49 at anupper inside surface. When the lever arms move, they ride along the pairof rail surfaces evenly so as to compress the soap pump that is formedon the net of the bottle of the cartridge.

The keyhole 61 can allow a key to be inserted into the top sidewall 24and thereby depress the wall mount housing latch 51. The wall mounthousing latch 51 retains the housing cover 10 to the top sidewall 24.

1. a soap dispenser comprising: a. a wall mount housing; b. a housingcover mounted to the wall mount housing; c. a compression modulemechanism having an upper compression module and a lower compressionmodule in a sliding relationship, wherein the compression modulemechanism is mounted to the wall mount housing; d. a cartridge having atank filled with liquid soap, wherein the cartridge includes a neck witha neck groove and a nozzle, wherein the cartridge includes a soap pumpthat pumps soap through the nozzle; and e. a neck retainer having a neckretainer guide, wherein the neck retainer guide is configured to fit tothe neck groove.
 2. The soap dispenser of claim 1, further comprising: asoap piston mounted to the neck in a telescopic sliding relationship,wherein the soap piston extends beyond the neck groove, wherein the soappiston terminates at a soap nozzle.
 3. The soap dispenser of claim 1,further comprising: a compression module retainer latch having acompression module retainer latch tip, wherein the upper compressionmodule has an upper compression module top surface that is retained tothe wall mount housing by the compression module retainer latch tip. 4.The soap dispenser of claim 1, further comprising: an upper retainergroove arm and a lower retainer groove arm formed on the wall mounthousing, wherein the upper retainer groove arm retains an upper retainertab formed on the upper compression module, and wherein the lowerretainer groove arm retains a lower retainer tab formed on the uppercompression module, wherein the upper retainer groove arm is formedabove the lower retainer groove arm.
 5. The soap dispenser of claim 1,further comprising: a neck retainer guide upper edge and a neck retainerguide lower edge, wherein the neck retainer guide upper edge is parallelto the neck retainer guide lower edge, wherein the neck retainer guidelower edge engages the neck groove flange.
 6. The soap dispenser ofclaim 1, further comprising: a right alignment piston and a leftalignment piston both formed on a lower compression module frame,wherein the right alignment piston is mounted to slide within a rightalignment hollow, and wherein the left alignment piston is mounted toslide within a left alignment hollow.
 7. The soap dispenser of claim 1,further comprising: a left reciprocation slot and a right reciprocationslot formed on the upper compression module, wherein the lowercompression module has a left reciprocation sleeve and a rightreciprocation sleeve, wherein the left reciprocation sleeve reciprocateswithin the left reciprocation slot, and wherein the right reciprocationsleeve reciprocates within the right reciprocation slot.
 8. The soapdispenser of claim 1, further comprising: a nozzle collar retainerformed as an indent on a planar shaped lower compression module frame ofthe lower compression module, wherein the nozzle collar retainer biasesa nozzle collar of the nozzle for pumping soap.
 9. The soap dispenser ofclaim 1, further comprising: a guide ramp formed on the neck retainerguide, wherein the guide ramp has a guide ramp tip, wherein the guideramp is configured to retain and guide the neck groove flange as thecartridge is inserted into the wall mount housing, wherein the guideramp has a diagonal slope.
 10. The soap dispenser of claim 9, furthercomprising: a soap piston mounted to the neck in a telescopic slidingrelationship, wherein the soap piston extends beyond the neck groove,wherein the soap piston terminates at a soap nozzle.
 11. The soapdispenser of claim 9, further comprising: a compression module retainerlatch having a compression module retainer latch tip, wherein the uppercompression module has an upper compression module top surface that isretained to the wall mount housing by the compression module retainerlatch tip.
 12. The soap dispenser of claim 9, further comprising: anupper retainer groove arm and a lower retainer groove arm formed on thewall mount housing, wherein the upper retainer groove arm retains anupper retainer tab formed on the upper compression module, and whereinthe lower retainer groove arm retains a lower retainer tab formed on theupper compression module, wherein the upper retainer groove arm isformed above the lower retainer groove arm.
 13. The soap dispenser ofclaim 9, further comprising: a neck retainer guide upper edge and a neckretainer guide lower edge, wherein the neck retainer guide upper edge isparallel to the neck retainer guide lower edge, wherein the neckretainer guide lower edge engages the neck groove flange.
 14. The soapdispenser of claim 9, further comprising: a right alignment piston and aleft alignment piston both formed on a lower compression module frame,wherein the right alignment piston is mounted to slide within a rightalignment hollow, and wherein the left alignment piston is mounted toslide within a left alignment hollow.
 15. The soap dispenser of claim 9,further comprising: a left reciprocation slot and a right reciprocationslot formed on the upper compression module, wherein the lowercompression module has a left reciprocation sleeve and a rightreciprocation sleeve, wherein the left reciprocation sleeve reciprocateswithin the left reciprocation slot, and wherein the right reciprocationsleeve reciprocates within the right reciprocation slot.
 16. The soapdispenser of claim 9, further comprising: a nozzle collar retainerformed as an indent on a planar shaped lower compression module frame ofthe lower compression module, wherein the nozzle collar retainer biasesa nozzle collar of the nozzle for pumping soap.
 17. The soap dispenserof claim 9, further comprising: a. a soap piston mounted to the neck ina telescopic sliding relationship, wherein the soap piston extendsbeyond the neck groove, wherein the soap piston terminates at a soapnozzle; b. a compression module retainer latch having a compressionmodule retainer latch tip, wherein the upper compression module has anupper compression module top surface that is retained to the wall mounthousing by the compression module retainer latch tip; and c. an upperretainer groove arm and a lower retainer groove arm formed on the wallmount housing, wherein the upper retainer groove arm retains an upperretainer tab formed on the upper compression module, and wherein thelower retainer groove arm retains a lower retainer tab formed on theupper compression module, wherein the upper retainer groove arm isformed above the lower retainer groove arm.
 18. The soap dispenser ofclaim 9, further comprising: a. a neck retainer guide upper edge and aneck retainer guide lower edge, wherein the neck retainer guide upperedge is parallel to the neck retainer guide lower edge, wherein the neckretainer guide lower edge engages the neck groove flange; b. a rightalignment piston and a left alignment piston both formed on a lowercompression module frame, wherein the right alignment piston is mountedto slide within a right alignment hollow, and wherein the left alignmentpiston is mounted to slide within a left alignment hollow; c. a leftreciprocation slot and a right reciprocation slot formed on the uppercompression module, wherein the lower compression module has a leftreciprocation sleeve and a right reciprocation sleeve, wherein the leftreciprocation sleeve reciprocates within the left reciprocation slot,and wherein the right reciprocation sleeve reciprocates within the rightreciprocation slot; and d. a nozzle collar retainer formed as an indenton a planar shaped lower compression module frame of the lowercompression module, wherein the nozzle collar retainer biases a nozzlecollar of the nozzle for pumping soap.
 19. The soap dispenser of claim18, further comprising: a. a soap piston mounted to the neck in atelescopic sliding relationship, wherein the soap piston extends beyondthe neck groove, wherein the soap piston terminates at a soap nozzle; b.a compression module retainer latch having a compression module retainerlatch tip, wherein the upper compression module has an upper compressionmodule top surface that is retained to the wall mount housing by thecompression module retainer latch tip; and c. an upper retainer groovearm and a lower retainer groove arm formed on the wall mount housing,wherein the upper retainer groove arm retains an upper retainer tabformed on the upper compression module, and wherein the lower retainergroove arm retains a lower retainer tab formed on the upper compressionmodule, wherein the upper retainer groove arm is formed above the lowerretainer groove arm.